The Spencer text is the only text that is built on independently researched pedagogy on the best way to teach General Chemistry. Chemistry: Structure and Dynamics, 5th Edition emphasizes deep understanding rather than comprehensive coverage along with a focus on the development of inquiry and reasoning skills. While most mainstream General Chemistry texts offer a breadth of content coverage, the Spencer author team, in contrast, focuses on depth and student preparation for future studies.

The 5th edition is revised in keeping with our commitment to the chemical education community and specifically the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) Project. This text reflects two core principles, 1st that the concepts that are covered are fundamental building blocks for understanding chemistry and 2nd, that the concepts should be perceived by the students as being directly applicable to their interests and careers. The authors further provide this “core” coverage using 1 of 3 models; data-driven, chemical theories and students understanding, which allows for a more concrete foundation on which students build conceptual understanding.